The Google Phone: Let’s clear up some facts about who really ‘called it’

So the news is all over the tech blogosphere – Google does have a Google Phone (you can read our reporting of it by Kim over here) and everyone is slapping good old Michael Arrington for the incredible investigative skills required to be the one who broke the news.

There’s only one problem with that scenario – it’s bullshit. Pure.And.Simple.

I know this because unlike all the rest of the tech blogosphere I have a memory and I believe that credit should go to the person who actually deserves it. Which in the case of the Google Phone we need to go back to 2007 and Mark ‘Rizzn’ Hopkins breaking the news, based on an inside source, that Google was indeed working on a branded phone.

This was a post that was widely quoted right across the tech blogosphere and if I recall correctly he also received a lot of flack over. It was also the same news that apparently CrunchGear thought enough of to link to as a related item.

I realize that for the most part the tech blogosphere has the memory of an amoeba where remembering anything past the last Twitter message is a stretch but that doesn’t make it right. The truth of the matter is that Mark deserves all credit for being the person who got this story right and it shouldn’t take him having to post a “I told you so” post to get the fact straight.

So Michael while it is great that you, and the whole *Crunch crew are patting you and themselves on the back for getting this so-called breaking news maybe you should take a view precious lines and acknowledge the person who actually broke the story almost three years before you.

As for the rest of the tech blogosphere perhaps you should maybe take the time to actually do some research on who said what and when instead of being a bunch of lazy asses and giving credit where it isn’t due. Not to mention that there are some of you who owe Mark a big apology but chances are that won’t happen which says a lot about the people in this business.